BRIAN ELMS, AUTHOR "PEAK PERFORMANCE"

Brian is the author of Peak Performance and the former Director of Peak Academy and Analytics for the City and County of Denver. He specializes in process improvement and has more than 15 years of experience providing political, policy, legislative and program management expertise to government agencies, elected officials, trade associations and nonprofit organizations. Brian started his career in public service after graduating from Regis University and joining the National School and Community Corps (AmeriCorps) as a team leader. He also worked for the Rendell Administration in Pennsylvania as the Policy Director for the Department of Aging. After working in Washington DC for AARP, Brian moved back to his hometown and served as the Assistant Director of Government Affairs at Denver International Airport.

Brian is a certified Lean Black Belt, a Six Sigma Green Belt and Change Management Professional. In his former role as Director of the Peak Academy, he developed curriculum, training and consulting services that focus on employee-led performance management and continuous improvement. Since its inception in 2012, Peak Academy initiatives have saved the City & County of Denver nearly $25 million and the Academy has provided training to over 5,500 public and nonprofit professionals.

MATTHEW WAITE, UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN

Matt Waite is a professor of practice in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and founder of the Drone Journalism Lab. Since he joined the faculty in 2011, he and his students have used drones to report news in six countries on three continents. He regularly speaks about the legal and ethical complexities of using drones at conferences around the world and is regularly consulted by media organizations about their potential. He also teaches courses in data journalism, web development and the intersection of storytelling and technology. From 2007-2011, he was a programmer/journalist for the St. Petersburg Times where he developed the Pulitzer Prize-winning website PolitiFact. Before that, he was an award-winning investigative reporter for the Times and co-author of Paving Paradise: Florida's Vanishing Wetlands and the Failure of No Net Loss.